Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare
Gujar Khan Barley Seed  (67 days under warm dry conditions.  87 days under cooler, moist) 

Originated in Punjab, Pakistan. 

Protein level 17.90  6.0 BetaGlucan level

Spring planted six rowed barley. 

Lodging Scale of 4

Extremely rare cultivar. 

2009 Trial
Gujar Kan was planted in the coastal mountains of California an hour north of San Francisco in February.  It was watered only when sown.  Recorded rain only twice during growth period due to dry spring.  No lodging recorded where neighboring barley plot did lodge after a spring storm.  A truly amazing barley that headed up in less than 60 days and was harvested at 67 days.

2010 Trial
UC Davis recommends having all barley planted by December in our area.  So this is what I did this year. Big mistake, along with a few others that spelled disaster.  One problem was we moved to a new location with poor sandy soil and we experienced higher than normal rain amounts in a relatively small amount of time.  Much of the grain was flooded for prolonged periods and many of the organic nutrients were washed away.  80% is dead or severely stunted.

I believe this variety may be better adapted to hot and dry conditions given adequate initial rainfall over winter. So, next year I would not plant early, but wait till March 1st.  This allows our soils to become saturated with the needed moisture, but gives time for the majority of the showers to have passed (we only get winter rain here).  This also allows for the heat/dry conditions this barley seems to respond to (as opposed to most barley that prefers cool moist conditions). 

All is not lost this year however.  I did put some precious seed back and have replanted it to plug trays in the greenhouse.  These plugs are now being put into the field as I write this (March 23).  A tremendous and painstaking amount of work, but this should produce enough seed for replanting next year and possibly some to share here on a VERY limited basis.   Update June 1st.  Will have a fine crop from this rescue attempt.  I'm glad we went to the extra effort. 

I'm amazed to report that Gujar Khan has an average of 10 stools on one plant!!!  Meaning, each plant has an average of 10 stalks each one producing a grain head.  The average height is relatively short at around 2'.  Which means there is little problem with lodging, although I did note about 15% lodging this year.  The only draw back to this barley is the size of the grain head (not the seed itself which is large).  It is comparatively small compared to many other barley cultivars and it a bit difficult to thresh clean.  It is also only 50% hulless at this stage. 

2011 Trials (on-going)

Again, this is the first barley to head up this year and while other var. are showing some signs of Barley Leaf Blotch (typical in our maritime climate) Gujar has little to none. 

A work in progress
We are working to turn it into 100% hulless and have longer grain heads.  This will take a number of years, but I believe this barley holds great promise for its high protein levels and ability to perform in near drought conditions. 


Sample Sizes Only.   You will receive 50 seeds/3 grams.  Please don’t ask for larger quantities because we do not have them. The idea is for as many people as possible to get started and grow your own reestablishing genetic diversity.  This allows many people to get samples instead of just a few and hopefully will preserve this cultivar.

Part of Sustainable Seed Company's Grain Restoration Project.  Information provided here for that purpose.